Forennews » e patient only as long as there is pro

LOS ANGELES -- The carousel in the Los Angeles Dodgers crowded outfield keeps spinning, and centre fielder Andre Ethier wont be getting off anytime soon with the way he is swinging the bat and playing defence -- especially after left fielder Carl Crawford sprained his ankle. Ethier drove in the Dodgers first four runs with a homer and a bases-loaded triple, and Zack Greinke tied a season high with 11 strikeouts in a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night. But the jubilation in the clubhouse was subdued after Crawford left the game in the eighth inning with a sprained left ankle. He injured himself chasing down pinch-hitter Chris Heiseys leadoff double into the left field corner. Crawford said that he will have to go on the disabled list, although the club made no such announcement. Ethiers season-high four RBIs increased his total to 25, despite the outfield situation that had forced manager Don Mattingly to mix and match with Matt Kemp, Crawford, Scott Van Slyke and right fielder Yasiel Puig -- the only constant in the bunch. Puig, who came in second in the NL with a .345 average and 38 RBIs, reached base safely for the 28th straight game. "Its uncomfortable, and its a tough spot to be in," Ethier said. "I guess this is a situation where too much of a good thing is not necessarily good. But youve got to commend everyone for being professional and handling it as well as they can." Kemp was not in the starting lineup for the fifth straight game -- his longest such stretch without an injury since he became a regular in 2008. Mattingly and his staff are waiting for the two-time Gold Glove centre fielder to become comfortable enough in left field to play there on a regular basis alongside Ethier. Kemp pinch-hit in the eighth and struck out. "I just keep telling Matt: Lets go. Keep it going. Youre going to be needed, so just be ready for your opportunity," said Ethier, Kemps teammate since 2006. Greinke (8-1) allowed three runs, eight hits and no walks in 7 2-3 innings. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner was lifted after giving up a two-run homer by Devin Mesoraco on his 104th pitch -- ending Greinkes streak of 22 consecutive starts in which he had allowed fewer than three earned runs. It was the longest such streak since the dead-ball era. Kenley Jansen followed J.P. Howell out of the bullpen and pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save. Alfredo Simon (6-3) threw 70 pitches in 3 2-3 innings, giving up five runs, five hits and four walks after going 5-0 with a 1.05 ERA in his first five road starts. The right-hander was the first Reds pitcher in the modern era (since 1900) to win his first five road starts of a season while allowing no more than five hits in any of them. Simon retired his first two batters in the second before Ethier drove the next pitch to right-centre for his third home run of the season. It ended a drought of 83 at-bats since his previous long ball, a three-run shot against Arizonas Mike Bolsinger on April 19 at Dodger Stadium. Ethier came up in the fourth with three men on after a one-out intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez, and lined a 2-1 pitch into the right field corner for his first triple of the year. Chone Figgins, starting at third base for the injured Juan Uribe, capped the rally with an RBI single to make it 5-0. "Alfredos strength really so far, beyond having very good stuff, has been to execute quality pitches. And that got away from him a little bit in the fourth," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "With Greinke pitching, we were in a position where we couldnt give up a bulk of runs. But they had a big inning. And when Greinkes on, thats a knockout blow." Roger Bernadina drove in Cincinnatis first run with a fifth-inning single. For the first time in three games, a Dodgers starter gave up a hit before the eighth inning. Todd Frazier -- whose leadoff double in the eighth on Monday night broke up Hyun-Jin Ryus bid for a perfect game following Josh Becketts no-hitter on Sunday at Philadelphia -- singled with one out in the second. Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 4 with an RBI single in the cleanup spot, after missing four games because of a sore left calf. NOTES: Reds 2B Brandon Phillips, 3 for 16 lifetime against Greinke, got the night off. But he did bring Prices lineup card to home plate for the exchange with the umpires. Vince Carter Jersey . He had spent 16 days on the disabled list before being activated Thursday. He was batting just .203 when he came to bat in the 11th inning on Sunday. Justin Jackson Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-jonat...s-magic-jersey/. LOUIS -- The St. Aaron Gordon Jersey . Almost 40 years to the day, the two teams will meet again, this time at BC Place, to celebrate the past and try to earn important points for the present. Mohamed Bamba Jersey . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points.DETROIT -- Even by the Detroit Pistons recent standards, this was an abrupt change. Detroit fired coach Maurice Cheeks on Sunday after less than a year as coach, with the Pistons languishing well below .500 despite off-season moves aimed at putting the struggling franchise back in contention. Detroit is 21-29, and although the Pistons still have a decent chance to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, their new roster has performed erratically. "This was a difficult decision for the organization to make but we needed to make a change," team president Joe Dumars said in a statement. "We have great respect for Maurice and appreciate his hard work." A person with knowledge of Detroits plans said assistant John Loyer will take over as interim coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced an interim coach yet. The Pistons havent made the playoffs since being swept in the first round in 2009 -- in Michael Currys only season as their coach. Since then, Detroit has gone through two seasons under John Kuester and two under Lawrence Frank. After neither of them could make any real progress, Cheeks was brought in as Detroits ninth coach since the 1999-2000 season. In addition to hiring Cheeks last off-season, Detroit signed forward Josh Smith and traded for point guard Brandon Jennings, trying to bolster a roster that already included young big men Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. But the mix has been uninspiring for the most part. The Pistons have had problems defensively and have struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter. The poor attendance thats become commonplace at The Palace hasnt really improved -- and Detroits 11-15 home record hasnt helped. "Our record does not reflect our talent and we simply need a change," Pistons owner Tom Gores said Sunday. "We have not made the kind of progress that we should have over the first half of the season. This is a young team and we knew there would be growing pains, but we can be patient only as long as there is progress." Detroit is only a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the East, but thats largely because so many teams in the conference are having similar problems. The Pistons are only three games better than they were after 50 games last season. Cheeks became the first coach to leave or be fired after 50 games or fewer with an NBA team since Bob Weiss, who coached only 30 games for Seattle in 22005-06, according to STATS.dddddddddddd That does not include interim coaches. "The responsibility does not fall squarely on any one individual, but right now this change is a necessary step toward turning this thing around," Gores said. "I still have a lot of hope for this season and I expect our players to step up. I respect and appreciate Maurice Cheeks and thank him for his efforts; we just require a different approach." The Pistons have won four of six, including back-to-back blowouts at home against Brooklyn and Denver on Friday and Saturday. They host San Antonio on Monday night, and the team has not made any announcement about who will coach that game. Cheeks previously coached Portland and Philadelphia, a team he won an NBA title with as a point guard. The Pistons gave him his third shot to be an NBA head coach in June. Gores was in attendance at a recent game and said he thought the team was better than its record. "Im not satisfied. Our job is to make sure that our players are at their maximum," Gores said after that Feb. 1 game against Philadelphia. "Im not satisfied with the job Im doing. Im not satisfied with the job anyone is doing." At that point, speculation centred around the upcoming trade deadline and the possibility that Detroit might shake up its roster again. Now, the Pistons are hoping another coaching change can improve the franchises outlook. Detroit made the conference finals six straight years from 2003-08, but the teams fall was swift after that, and rebuilding has been difficult. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Pistons championship in 2004 -- and the atmosphere at The Palace could hardly be more different. "Were focused on how to make our players the best," Gores said earlier this month. "I dont think weve done our best job of making sure they are at their best. They are working at 100 per cent, but these are young men who need a lot of preparation." The Pistons became the third major pro team in Detroit to make a coaching or managerial change in the past six months. Jim Leyland of the Tigers stepped down and was replaced by Brad Ausmus after last season, and the Lions fired Jim Schwartz in late December, eventually replacing him with Jim Caldwell. So Ausmus, who has yet to manage a game, is now the second-longest tenured manager or coach of the citys four major pro teams. Yahoo Sports first reported Cheeks firing. 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